After reaching a certain speed, using words to describe the feeling is just absurd.

Even Danielle Mullis, a pretty articulate 12-year-old, just glazes over when asked to explain her several-times-a-week rides at the award-winning Velodrome at Bloomer Park in Rochester Hills.

 

"It's just really fun to do," she says after a deep breath, her eyes fixed on the large bowl of a track above her. "I just love it."

 

Maybe it's being able to hear the wind in your head, to swim in the air, to cut through it with enough speed that your mind falls back and your body becomes its own energy field. Maybe it's the thrill of finding other riders who feel similarly inclined to race around the track fast enough, all melting together, turning the track into a great big whirling dervish sputtering bits of electricity and life.

 

Or maybe it's just a blast. Whatever. The fact is, in its seven years of existence, the Velodrome has emerged as one of the great little American stories, one built on volunteer effort, passion, and the ineluctably human quest to have loads of fun for little money.

 

The Velodrome opened officially in May 2002, one of only 20 Olympic-grade tracks in the world. It was designed by Dale Hughes, a Rochester resident and one of only a few people in the world who are paid to design and build Velodromes.

 

He built the Velodrome for the 1996 Olympic Summer Games in Atlanta, and several others scattered around the world. In other words, this track is for real – a tried and true champion maker. Most Friday nights, Hughes can be found perched on the spectator hill above the track, shouting out encouragement and advice to that evening's racers, who range from teenage to middle age.

 

One of them is Danielle Mullis, the Rochester eighth-grader who, over the July 4th weekend, took the gold medal in the USA Cycling Junior Track National Championships in Carson City, Calif. It was a little over a year ago that she and her younger brother Luke, curious about the Velodrome, first visited with their father, Nigel Mullis.

 

"Once my kids came, they really got the bug," says Nigel, who also rides in the Velodrome's weekly races. "It's a lot safer than riding on the road."

 

When the leaves begin to fall and high school football season opens in Michigan, local fans know to head to Eastern Michigan University’s Rynearson Stadium for what has become an annual tradition – the Big Day Prep Showdown.

Developed in 2005 by the Detroit Metro Sports Commission – now Detroit Sports – the Big Day has become the premier opening week showcase of high school football in Michigan with a college bowl-game like flavor complete with player and coach visits to Beaumont Hospital pediatric patients, player and coach visits to Detroit Lions practice and other exciting special events leading up to the games.  The event has captured national attention and was named the Outstanding Locally Created Event of 2008 by the National Association of Sports Commissions.

The 2009 Big Day Prep Showdown will be held Aug. 28 and 29, and will feature seven games in two days with match-ups featuring a statewide mix of perennial powers and emerging programs including four of the top 25 teams in the state led by 2008 MHSAA Division I champion and the winningest all-time team in Michigan, the Muskegon High School Big Red.

New to the Big Day in 2009 is a partnership with the Close the Gap, an educational initiative, sponsored by Boston Scientific, aimed at addressing disparities in cardiovascular care for the underserved patient populations of women, black Americans and Latino Americans. The initiative also addresses the issue of sudden cardiac death in young athletes through various partnerships and educational activities.  Detroit Sports and Close the Gap have secured the support of local head football coaches including University of Michigan’s Rich Rodriguez; Eastern Michigan University’s Ron English; the Detroit Lion’s Jim Schwartz, and Inkster High School’s Greg Carter to create a series of heart health-focused public service announcements that will be played during each of the seven games of the Big Day Prep Showdown.

A highlight of the event this year will be a host of major Division I college recruits who will display their talents including three 2010 University of Michigan commitments in Inkster High School quarterback Devin Gardner; Ann Arbor Huron wide receiver Jeremy Jackson and Ann Arbor Pioneer wide receiver Ricardo Miller.  Other top players include two future Michigan State University Spartans’ in quarterback Joe Boisture from Saline and running back Nick Hill from Chelsea, and also Iowa-bound linebacker Austin Gray.

New to the Big Day Prep Showdown this year is a social media-rich website www.bigdayprepshowdown.com and a Facebook presence that features unique videos and photos of players, coaches and others involved in the event.  Fans visiting YouTube can check out unique Big Day video content on the participating teams and players, coaches and officials at bigdayprepshowdown3, and hundreds of photos on Flickr.

Advance tickets are $7 for students and $9 for adults and are available at the participating schools, or by calling 313-202-1982.  All tickets are $10 at the gate on the day of the event.  Children age five and under are free.   All tickets provide admission for all games on the day of ticket purchase. 

Don’t miss the Big Day Prep Showdown V!

 

 

 

With the economy not being in the best shape, many people don’t have the luxury to travel as much.
However, one trip to the small town of Hamtramck visitors can experience a taste of the world.

The 2.2 square mile city encompasses 33 different nationalities and all are very proud of their roots.

Hamtramck was originally a “Pole Town” and visitors are still able to get a feel of Poland. Restaurants like The Polish Village Café are known for their authentic dinners, which include the ever so popular pierogis.

After dinner, visiting the New Palace Bakery down the street is a must to purchase krusciki (better known as angel wings in English).

One block over, Polish Market has a huge variety of the best kielbasa. Many people stock up to make their own Polish based dinner at home.

Food is not the only way to experience the Polish lifestyle in Hamtramck. Across the street from Polish Market is the Pope Park, in honor of remembrance of the late Pope John Paul II. Many citizens pay their respects by lighting candles and bringing flowers to the memorial daily.

Even though Polish characteristics are quite evident throughout Hamtramck visitors are still able to experience other nationalities. The Ukraine church Immaculate Conception holds many masses in Ukrainian and a library/museum is just across the street.

The Muslim community has expanded throughout the past few years and so have their cultural impact.

Walking down the street you can hear the traditional Call to Prayer coming from the Mosques and instantly feel like you’re in a Middle Eastern country.

Many Arabic restaurants and markets fill the streets of Hamtramck. Shops have writing in Arabic to make it a more authentic feeling.

Finding traditional Bengali clothing is easy. Visitors can shop for colorful saris around the city.  
If you’re more into Bosnian food, cevapis are a well-known dish at the Bosnian Specialties restaurant.

Having so many nationalities within one small city gives everybody a chance to visit “the world in two square miles.”

Nothing says warm weather and good times in The D like going to a Tiger’s game at Comerica Park.  
For many here in metro Detroit, a Tiger’s game is something of a tradition.  Families spend their mornings prepping the kids with SPF 50 sun block, and twenty-somethings head over to their favorite watering hole like Bookies, the Town Pump, or The Old Shillelagh to get the victory party started early.


Whether it’s your first game of the season or your first game ever, you can’t help but feel in awe at this festival of the senses.

As you head towards the main entrance, the 15-foot tall tiger statue greets you as you enter through the tall blue gates and into the park.  Once inside, your first sight is the vast green outfield amidst the throngs of the crowd.  There is a sea of Tiger fans of all ages, all proudly displaying their personal collection of blue, orange, white and old English “D” paraphernalia. 


You smell the hotdogs, popcorn and cotton candy alluring your taste buds to wander over and sample the wares.  No time to wait in line now- the first pitch is about to be thrown!

As you make your way down to find your seat, you touch the freshly painted hand rail that has seen more than three million people in the past eight years. 

You hear the theme song for each player, then the crack of the bat – the ball whizzes past the shortstop and your man goes for a double.  Then you hear the groans and yells from disgruntled fans after bad calls- he was safe!  Minutes later, you hear the ominous roar of the tiger as every run touches home plate.

There’s no more denying your urges when the man making his way up and down the aisle selling delicious Americana classics.  You taste the hot dogs, the salty peanuts, and the ice cold beer while you smell the dust rising up from the infield as a Tiger steals third.

After the Tigers bat in the fifth inning, it is the perfect time to go for a walk and experience the rest of the park.  Steering towards the shop, you can’t help but touch the t-shirts and jerseys, the cute teddy bears, and the fuzzy tiger-ear headband that your four-year-old niece would love.

Before you know it, you are back in your seat—at least the edge of it anyway.  The Tigers have their closing pitcher on the mound, making sure their lead is secure.  The crowd is silent, then cacophonous after the victory has been achieved!  The GM Fountain bursts with excitement behind center field as there is a unified feeling of joy for our boys as they send us all home with a smile on our face.  The crowds file out of the park, laughing down the street on their way to their cars or the local restaurants to continue the victory celebration.  Music blares from somewhere off in the distance, and you can’t help but look up and revel at the skyscrapers and beautiful architecture that surround you and breathe in the warm night air.

Indulge your senses and experience summer in The D!

The progressively expanding artistic community of Ferndale is one that steadily rings with the clinking of pint glasses in any number of hip hangouts; and it's a city that often reverberates with the sound of clanging guitars and beating drums. But for the last few months, a new sound has been added into this mix: the sound of uproarious yucks. Or guffaws. Or how ever else you snort with laughter. And it emanates, of all places, from a remodeled Secretary of State office (not a destination known for inducing mirth) on East Nine Mile Road. This is the home of Go Comedy! Improv Theater. 

As I walk into the theater for the first time, I'm skeptical – I've been burned by bad bar improv before, spending most of my time flagging down waiters and trying to lubricate the laughter out with liquor. This crew is going to have to bring their A-game in order to shake this chip from my shoulder. So I grab a Jack and Coke from the theater bar … just in case.

PJ Jacokes, 31, one of the clowns in charge of this comedy circus, describes Ferndale as "a really nice mixture of community and culture." He adds, "I just felt like this would be a really nice place where we could fit in. And from the earliest stages, the city's been very welcoming and very helpful with everything."

And this sense of community also extends itself into the smaller microcosm that is Go. Because not only is this cast of 40-some performers a group of good friends, but in true super-group fashion, they've come from the casts of Second City, Planet Ant and the now-defunct Improv Inferno from Ann Arbor to assemble into a veritable Voltron of comedy – gigantic robot battle still pending.  

The focus at Go is almost purely improv. There's the occasional written show, like Sunday night's Timeless: The Dancical, and a sketch comedy show coming in March (entitled Missionary Accomplished: The Audacity of Hump – just try and tell me that title hasn't piqued your interest), but Go Comedy! mines nearly all of its nuggets of witty gold from the mountain named Improv.

-- Kirk Vanderbeek, metromode